Policies

The following policies are standard policies for students participating in guitar and/or music production lessons. For projects that fall under the category of any of the additional services that I offer, policies can be negotiated and agreed upon before services are rendered. These policies are designed to maintain a consistent income and to help the business continue to operate in a way that ensures every student has the best learning experience possible. In addition to teaching private music lessons, I also have to balance teaching a university music class as well as being an active musician with rehearsals, gigs, and writing/recording sessions. This means I only have so many teaching hours available and only a small portion of those are available during high-demand times in the late afternoons and evenings after typical work and/or school-days end. Therefore, my capacity for flexibility is extremely limited and is the main reason my policies and rates are as they are.

 
 

Registering For Lessons

  • Committing to lessons means you are reserving a specific day/time that typically cannot be filled by other students (see priority exceptions in Prepaid Package Lessons and Prepaid Single Lessons)

  • Payment is therefore not just for each individual lesson that occurs, but more specifically for reservation of that time slot

  • Tuition/Rates are calculated considering all of the following:

    • Allotted time for the lesson itself

    • Reservation of the assigned day/time of the lesson

    • My knowledge and expertise which includes over 25 years of experience in many musical areas plus both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in music

    • Time I spend in preparation for lessons (researching, learning songs, testing software, finding additional materials, etc.)

      • I adapt everything I do to meet the individual learning needs/styles of each student in order to ensure each student has a successful and enjoyable experience

    • Lessons where I drive to the student also factor in gas expenses along with the extra drive time on both sides of the lessons where other students cannot book that time

  • Students who register for Standard Weekly Lessons more than a week into any given month will begin lessons at the decided day/time in the first week of the following month

    • Should a student wish to begin lessons earlier than the following month, that first month’s tuition with be prorated and and the first lesson will be scheduled at least 7 days out from the payment date

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Payment

  • Upon agreement of lesson day(s)/time(s), full payment must be made in advance of the time slot(s) being reserved regardless of lesson type

  • The following payment methods are available:

    • Venmo, Zelle, PayPal, Personal Check

 

Standard Weekly Lessons

  • I recommend this option for students who plan to continue studying year-round with no determined end date

  • Scheduling

    • Lessons are scheduled for the same day and time each week for either 45 or 60 minutes

      • Should a student need to change the reserved time slot to another for the foreseeable future, notification must be made by 5th day of the month preceding the change

  • Tuition

    • Tuition for Standard Weekly Lessons will remain constant every month and is calculated for 4 lessons per month with lessons taking place every week (even during 5 week months)

      • Months with an extra 5th week lesson essentially ends up offsetting any holidays or days where I’m out on vacation during the year (see Holidays and Vacation Time)

    • Both the first and last month’s tuition will be included on the first invoice

      • Last month’s tuition will be used to cover the final month of lessons (see Discontinuation and Pausing of Lessons)

    • After the first invoice, tuition is prepaid at the beginning of each month

      • Invoices will be emailed sometime during the final week of the previous month with the expectation that payment is due on the 1st of the month, though a grace period of 5 days will be allowed

      • Any payment received after the 5th of the month will result in an Initial Late Fee being charged (see Fees and Additional Charges)

        • Unless special arrangements have been made with me, any payment still outstanding by the time the next month rolls around will result in an Additional Late Fee being charged in addition to possible termination of future lessons (see Fees and Additional Charges)

 

Prepaid Package Lessons

  • I recommend this option for students who might not have a single time-slot consistently available on a weekly basis or who might want to meet less than one time per week (i.e. every-other-week)

  • Scheduling

    • Available as 45 or 60 minutes lessons bundled in sets of 4, 8, or 12

    • Prepaid Package Lessons can be scheduled as-needed within a 6-month period from the date-of-purchase

      • Lesson date/time must be agreed-upon by the student/parent and me at least 7 days in advance to avoid an additional charge (see Fees and Additional Charges)

        • Any additional charges must be paid before the lesson time can be reserved

      • Any unused sessions at the end of the 6 month period will be forfeited unless special arrangements have been made with me

    • Multiple Prepaid Package Lessons can also be booked in advance, but only for a single calendar month at a time

      • Priority is given to students who are enrolled in the Standard Weekly Lessons

      • Prepaid Package Lessons scheduled in advance are subject to rescheduling if a new Standard Weekly Lessons student requires that originally scheduled time slot

        • I will give at least 7 days of notice if/when this occurs

    • I will try to provide reminders when possible in regard to scheduling/rescheduling, however it is ultimately the responsibility of the student/parent to ensure that lessons are scheduled/rescheduled within the 6 month period

 

Prepaid Single Lessons

  • I recommend this option for students who only occasionally need light guidance or support

  • Generally, this option will only be available to students I have worked with before and not first-time students

  • Scheduling

    • Available only as 60 minute lessons

    • Prepaid Single Lessons can be scheduled as-needed within a 6-month period from the date-of-purchase

      • Lesson date/time must be agreed-upon by the student/parent and me at least 7 days in advance to avoid an additional charge (see Fees and Additional Charges)

        • Any additional charges must be paid before the lesson time can be reserved

    • Prepaid Single Lessons scheduled in advance are subject to rescheduling if a new Standard Weekly Lessons or Prepaid Package Lessons student requires that originally scheduled time slot

      • I will give at least 7 days of notice if/when this occurs

    • I will try to provide reminders when possible in regard to scheduling/rescheduling, however it is ultimately the responsibility of the student/parent to ensure that lessons are scheduled/rescheduled within the 6-month period

 

Discontinuation and Pausing of Lessons (Standard Weekly Only)

  • Discontinuation of Lessons

    • Students who are registered for Standard Weekly Lessons will be required to give WRITTEN notice via email by no later than the 5th of the month prior to when they plan to discontinue lessons

    • When notice is received between the 1st and 5th, the prepaid last-month’s-tuition (that was prepaid when first registering for lessons) will be applied to the current month’s invoice

      • For example, students would provide notice for discontinuation of lessons between May 1st and 5th if they plan to be done taking lessons in June and the prepaid last-month’s-tuition will be applied to the May invoice

    • If notice is received between the 6th and 31st of the month prior to discontinuation, than the prepaid last-month’s-tuition will be applied to the following month and the current month’s payment will not be refunded (late charges can still be incurred if the payment is made beyond the 5th of the month)

      • For example, if a student provided notice between May 6th and May 31st that they will be done taking lessons in June, the May invoice will have already been paid (or will have incurred a late charge) and the last-month’s-tuition will be applied to a final June invoice.

    • If notice is received at anytime during the same month of intent to discontinue lessons, that month’s tuition will not refunded, the student/parent will be required to pay the full tuition for the following month, and the prepaid last-month’s-tuition will be applied to the month after that

      • For example, if a student provided notice at anytime during the month of June that they will be done taking lessons at a later date in June, the June invoice will not be refunded, they will need to pay the full tuition for July, and the prepaid last-month’s-tuition will be applied to August

  • Pausing of Lessons

    • If a student/parent wishes to pause lessons for an extended period of time without potentially losing their time slot, a Pause Fee that is a 50% reduction of the typical monthly tuition will need to be paid in lieu of the standard monthly payment to hold that time slot (see Fees and Additional Charges)

      • Pause periods will be limited to a minimum of 1 month and a maximum of 3 months

      • WRITTEN notice via email of intent to pause and for which months will need to be given in a similar fashion to discontinuation of lessons

        • Notice needs to be received by no later than the 5th of the month prior to first month of the intended pause in order to pay the Pause Fee instead full tuition for the following month

        • If notice is received between the 6th and 31st of the month prior to the start of the intended pause, or at anytime during the same month as the start of the intended pause, the following month will be charged for full tuition and the reduced Pause Fee will begin the month after that

 

Fees and Additional Charges

  • Late Fees (Standard Weekly Lessons)

    • $25 - Initial Late Fee for any payment received after the 5th of the month

    • $75 - Additional Late Fee for any payment still outstanding by the following month

  • Pause Fee (Standard Weekly Lessons)

    • 50% of each month’s tuition while the pause is in effect

  • Additional Charges (Standard Weekly, Prepaid Package, and Single Prepaid Lessons)

    • The following additional charges apply when booking lessons of any type:

      • Booking a lesson 3-6 days in advance will incur a $25 charge

      • Booking a lesson 24-48 hours in advance will incur a $40 charge

      • Booking a lesson less than 24 hours in advance will incur a $60 charge

 

Tardiness, Cancellations, Rescheduling/Make-ups, and Student Vacations

  • As a general policy, there will be no refunds or lesson credits for missed or incomplete lessons

  • Students/parents must inform me directly via text or phone (not email) in a timely manner if they expect to be more than 15 minutes late otherwise that lesson will be forfeited

    • Students being late for a lesson will not result in added time at the end of the lesson

  • Students/parents must inform me directly via text, phone, and/or email of the need to cancel or miss a lesson

  • If a cancellation is confirmed with me 24 or more hours in advance of the scheduled lesson then Rescheduling/Make-up Lessons will work as follows:

    • Prepaid Package and Prepaid Single Lesson Rescheduling

      • Students will be able to reschedule for any other available time slot, keeping in mind the 6-month time limit from purchase date to use all purchased lessons

    • Standard Weekly Lessons Make-up Lessons

      • Make-ups must be scheduled within 4 weeks of the original missed/cancelled lesson

      • The ability to schedule a make-up will be subject to my availability

      • Make-ups will be completed only as additional sessions to the regularly scheduled time slot and therefore will not result in any kind of deduction of future monthly tuition

  • If a Standard Weekly Lessons student will be gone for voluntary reasons such as vacation, they will have the following options:

    • Plan to schedule make-ups for the number of lessons they will miss

    • Pause lessons for 1-3 months (see Discontinuation and Pausing of Lessons)

 

Unforeseen Circumstances, Emergencies, Inclement Weather, and Sickness

  • Unforeseen Circumstances or Emergencies

    • In the event of unforeseen circumstances on my part, I may occasionally need to cancel and/or reschedule. I will contact you in a timely manner to inform you of the situation and check in about Rescheduling/Make-up options

    • If a student/parent has some other kind of unforeseen circumstance or emergency within 24 hours of a scheduled lesson, I will make a determination on a case-by-case basis as to whether a Rescheduled/Make-up lesson is possible or, in rare situations, whether some kind of refund or credit will be issued

  • Inclement Weather or Sickness

    • In the event of inclement weather or sickness on the part of either party, any in-person lessons will either be moved to online lessons or will be subject to the same Rescheduling/Make-up policies as usual (see Tardiness, Cancellations, Rescheduling/Make-ups, and Student Vacations)

      • If an In-your-home Standard Weekly Lessons student/parent elects NOT to do an online lesson due to potential scheduling conflicts for a future make-up, there will be no refund for the difference of the online lessons price and the in-your-home lessons price

    • In the event of more extreme weather events and sicknesses (i.e. the power/internet goes out or either party is too ill to meet online), I will make a determination on a case-by-case basis as to whether a Rescheduled/Make-up lesson is possible or, in rare situations, whether some kind of refund or credit will be issued

 

Hours

  • I offer lessons during the following hours:

    • Mondays - Thursdays: 9am - 7pm (with an hour for lunch)

    • Fridays: 9am - 12pm

  • Scheduling times outside of these hours may be possible, but only in a limited capacity depending on the situation

 

Holidays and Vacation Time

  • The following Holidays will be observed with no lessons taking place:

    • New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving (Thursday and Friday), and Christmas (24th and 25th)

  • There will be 5-6 weeks planned for my own vacation time in any given year which will typically include 1 week in the spring, 2-3 weeks in the summer, and the last 2 weeks of December

    • Students will be given as much advance notice as possible once those times are solidified during the year

  • These holidays and this vacation time are offset by the 5 week months for those enrolled in Standard Weekly Lessons